Taste Test: Zoe Nathan’s “A Taste of Huckleberry”

Savory or sweet, we’re hard pressed to find a culture that doesn’t have room for a pastry.  In LA the abundance of produce, the access to farms, and with our place in the farm-to-table movement clear, we certainly have all the right ingredients for the making of a good pastry. Thankfully baker and chef Zoe Nathan feels the same way. As co-owner of Santa Monica’s Huckleberry Cafe,  she serves up Kouign Amanns balanced with sugar and butter tucked into their crusty, warm, folds. Her artisanal breads soak up the likes of juicy brisket, avocado toasts, and egg sandwiches. One bite of her baked goodies and we’re reminded this Fall of cold mornings and warm kitchens filled with the people we love. Nathan not only brings donuts, biscuits and seasonal crostatas to hordes of hungry all-day brunchers, she’s also recently released her debut cookbook: Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes from Our Kitchen. 

Readers can test out an astonishing number of Nathan’s recipes (115, to be exact), while their doughs are proofing and donuts standing in perfect order waiting to be coated in frosting— all while feeling as if you’re in Nathan’s professional kitchen with Huckleberry’s behind-the-scenes look at her bakery. There’s even an entire chapter dedicated to COFFEE.  If you’re anything like us, your Huckleberry cookbook is going to be dusted with flour while little crystals of sugar fall to the table when you turn the pages of the how-to sequences for mastering basic baking techniques. Nathan’s motto is, “Everything in generosity”, and her cookbook is just another shining example of this!

To try out Zoe Nathan’s sweet and savory desserts, pastriesand other delicious food, visit her Santa Monica Bakery: Huckleberry Cafe located at 1014 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. Within the Huckleberry Restaurant Group you can also visit Sweet Rose Creamery at various L.A. locations, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar, and Milo + Olive. YUM!